The U.S. Navy began a training exercise with 20 other nations Tuesday in Singapore that will standardize training, tactics, and procedures for crisis situations, The Navy Times reported.
Called SEACAT, the Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training exercises are designed to have the 20 other nations cooperate if a crisis or illegal maritime activities appear in the region.
“In this region, the strength of our partnerships matter, and our ability and willingness to work together also matters,” Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet, said in a Navy news release. “This year’s SEACAT aims to enhance our interoperability as we address our shared maritime security concerns and preserve rules-based international order.”
The command operations center for SEACAT is based out of the International Fusion Center in Singapore, which organizes and coordinates responses to various crisis scenarios and provides information on “suspicious” vessels during the exercises, the report said.
“The scenarios are designed to encourage countries to work together through maritime domain awareness assets to better understand operations and adherence to international norms,” Capt. Tom Ogden, commander of Destroyer Squadron 7, said in a Navy news release. “Practicing multilateral, multi-platform intercepts help our Southeast Asian partners prepare for possible real-world engagements in the future.”
The report said the operation includes 400 personnel and 10 ships, including U.S. Navy warships from Task Forces 72, 73, and 76, along with the Pacific and Seventh fleets.
Among the 20 other countries participating in SEACAT include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Kingdom and Vietnam, the report said.
The training began in 2002 and, after conducting it virtually last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, its 20th version returns to the real world.
According to the story, this year’s training brings in international and nongovernmental organizations to create more realistic scenarios which help the units “enhance understanding and adherence to accepted rules, laws, and norms.”
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